Thanksgiving Recipes, Part 2
Plus, some proven strategies for sharing a vegan holiday meal with all types of eaters
Making the decision to have a plant based Thanksgiving is a big deal. Certain holiday menu items - like, say, the turkey - are iconic, and it’s inevitably going to raise eyebrows if you decide to not cook, serve and/or eat many Thanksgiving favorites. The choice to go animal product free is, of course, a deeply personal one, but unfortunately our dietary choices have a way of provoking (mostly unwanted) comments and opinions. Some family members/friends may even go as far as to suggest that you are “ruining” Thanksgiving by changing the menu. So, how do we make these decisions without alienating those we love most?
I’ll start off by saying that it’s been my experience (as a 30+ year vegetarian and 9.5+ year vegan) that most of the time, the people who love you will support you. They may not be ready to change their own diets, but they will respect whatever choices you’ve made for yourself. This is a great scenario, because these are the guests who will find gratitude in just being together and sharing a great meal, rather than making you feel badly about the lack of a turkey or Mee-Maw’s famous sausage stuffing.
As for the others, the ones who may not act as graciously or kindly: these are the people who may feel threatened by your choice. Defensiveness is usually a coping mechanism for insecurity. This, thankfully, is not your problem to solve. If they say something offensive or hurtful, try not to engage and remember: you are hosting, you (presumably) provided the food and did most of the work. You graciously invited everyone into your home. It is their decision whether or not they come. If they don’t like the menu, they can respectfully decline their invitation, or they can offer to bring a mutually agreed upon dish that will make everyone happy.
If you are the guest attending someone else’s Thanksgiving and want to ensure that there are some plant based things to eat, there’s no harm in asking your host what will be on the menu, and offer to bring some food to share. It’s a win win: you are guaranteed something you like to eat, and you’re helping the host by lightening their load a little bit.
Whether you’re hosting or attending a holiday dinner, I have some more recipes for you! I created my Thanksgiving recipes as a big thank you to my paid subscribers for supporting my work every month (seriously - thank you!), but if you’re unable to subscribe at this time, know that I am wishing you and yours a very happy, healthy holiday, and more (free!) recipes are always in the works.